Hush
by Polgara7
Summary: The fugitive Lucius Malfoy shows up dead. Everyone suspects Draco, who insists he's innocent. But sometimes the tell-tale heart of a serpent freezes the tongue of the guilty. DG Post-Hogwarts
1. Prologue: Shed No Tears

**PROLOGUE: SHED NO TEARS**

                Twenty-three year old Draco Malfoy stood stoic by his mother's side while listening to the minister eulogize. He was dressed in his best robes, sleek and sophisticated in satin black mourning that were as neat and composed as his handsome blank face and hard granite eyes. His mother beside him also stood emotionless, strong and unyielding as stone, her expression mirroring her son's. A few sniffles and the sound of tissues reverberated in the background of the minister's speech, but the mother and son stood in silence. Both of them were dressed in mourning robes as were the people surrounding them, but neither shed a single droplet of grief for the deceased and although both bore the same calm flat expression, only one of them felt as easy and undisturbed as they appeared.

Lucius Malfoy's funeral was held on a surprisingly sunny and calm day, the gentle breeze coming in from the coast lightly passing under the leaves of the surrounding trees, green with summer ripeness. The mild weather and cloudless, peaceful skies presented a stark contrast to the violent and gruesome manner in which he died: brutally attacked and murdered, supposedly by one of his fellow death eaters. The exact identity of the person, however, was unknown. What led the ministry to suspect one of Voldemort's henchmen was the dark mark that had been crudely engraved into his bare chest- it had been done right after he was tortured for hours, but right before he was finished off with the killing curse, they determined. It was also a fact that many of the Death Eaters, particularly the ones that actually went to Azkaban and paid for their crimes until they were liberated once more upon Voldemort's second coming years later, resented and hated Lucius Malfoy. Whilst the rest of them suffered in the dread fortress, he had been comfortably living life free those fifteen years. More than one of them had especial motive to kill him, especially after the fall of the dark lord by the hand of Harry Potter years earlier- the Death Eaters were no longer unified behind a central force- and with no mediation they scattered lawlessly, split into factions as they fought each other. But as Lucius was on the run himself and no one had witnessed his mysterious murder, the ministry had no leads, not even the slightest clue of how or where to investigate. Even Narcissa Malfoy, his beautiful devoted wife, claimed she had no knowledge of anyone wanting to claim his life, but then she hadn't heard from him often since he became a fugitive eight years ago.

Draco Malfoy also had no clue as to who would want to murder his father, although, the investigators suspected, he knew more than he had led on. Ever since he contacted them with a blunt "there's a dead body on my doorstep," not even bothering to mention that the body belonged to none other than his long missing father, Draco was under scrutiny- his lack of emotion startling everyone that saw his casual tearless face.

And here he was today, the same suave cool man without a care in the world, standing in front of his father's burial plot, his legs spread a little apart, his hands clasped coolly behind his back as he watched the casket being lowered into the ditch.

"Draco, Darling, Look!" exclaimed his mother suddenly as a bright red bird sailed across the sky and into a neighboring tree.

"Lovely, Mother," he said in a noncommittal tone as he lifted his pale blonde head and followed the red blur into the green with his keen gray eyes.

Minutes later, the ceremony was over and Draco followed his mother into the ministry limos that he ordered as the Head of the Department of Magical Transport. Helping his mother into the vehicle, he took one last look at the pile of earth, headed by a large silver slab that marked the final resting place of his father and then turned around, seating himself. The grave of Lucius Malfoy was never graced with the presence of his son or wife ever again.

***

"So Mr. Malfoy, how devastated were you when you discovered your father's mutilated dead body on your doorstep?" 

Ginny Weasley, part-time reporter for the Daily Prophet looked up at her subject, trying to look eager as her quill automatically scratched down her previous question. Self-consciously she began to straighten her black robes, reaching inside a couple of times to make sure her gray business suit was immaculate, the slightly short skirt that ended just above her knee tended to ride up at times. Not that it would have mattered how she looked, she thought bitterly, Draco Malfoy hadn't once turned around from where he sat at his desk to even glance at her or recognize her existence since she came into the room.

"Mr. Malfoy?" she asked again when he didn't answer.

Finally he turned around and looked at her, showing her his face for the first time. The effect was breathtaking. Before she could stop herself, Ginny ran her eyes over his gorgeous face, lingering on his piercing gray eyes and smooth thin lips. He had definitely grown up from the scrawny rat-faced teenager she'd remembered, as she lowered her appraisal to his broad shoulders and chest; and even though he was sitting down, she could tell that he had become quite tall and then there was that something in his air, emanating from inside him, that something that distinctly commanded respect, and, had she been his lover, worship. 

Looking back up into his eyes, Ginny caught a sparkle of amusement- he had noticed her appreciative scrutiny. A flush spread across her face at her embarrassing realization, a smirk spread across his. Thankfully, however, he didn't say anything to make the situation worse- she'd have expected a "Like what you see?" quip from the teenage prat that used to annoy her and her family endlessly at school, but all he said was, "As you can see Miss…" he paused, noticing her professionally tied back crimson hair, "Weasley, I have no desire for this interview. Perhaps, you can just make something up so that you can stop wasting your time and mine." He paused again waiting for her to reply.

"You mean fa-fake an interview?" she stuttered and blushed again when she realized how stupid she sounded: that was what he had basically asked her to do. What was the matter with her? The second he turned around she had lost all ability to talk coherently.

"As you know, I didn't call for this interview. My assistant and my boss, the Minister, decided that I wasn't putting out a good image with my lack of hysterical sobbing and I, for one, have had enough of this politically correct crap." He stared at her accusatorily making Ginny look down in embarrassment. It was true: her boss had told her to specifically phrase her questions carefully so that the right response would be elicited from Mr. Malfoy and here she was asking questions like "How devastated were you?"… It had been very tactless of her. But she needed this interview; her job was on the line here and if her boss found out she'd blown it she would be fired and then how would she pay her way through the Healer Academy?

Just then a more puzzling question popped into her mind: "How did you know my name?"

"What?" he looked up from his paperwork to notice that she was still here. Couldn't the Weasley leave him alone with her stupid pointless questions and her distractingly attractive presence? He noticed that she had placed her hand temptingly on her hip in an obstinate gesture, but it made her look challenging and so wickedly sexy. Dragging his eyes up her long smooth legs, past her curvaceous hips, petite waist, and ample chest, he settled his gaze on her pale white face, staring directly into her large brown eyes.

Had Malfoy just checked her out? No it couldn't be, could it? Suppressing a shudder, Ginny tried to forget that look of undeniable lust as he undressed her with his eyes. "My name, how did you…?"

He smirked again. "Well, when people wear name tags I generally assume that they display their proper names," he said casually, his smooth voice giving her images of cool silk sheets and soft tender touches.

Looking down at her Daily Prophet ministry pass, she realized he was right and she had just made a big deal out of nothing, thinking that he'd remembered her from their school days- he'd barely known she was alive.

"Er-right." Nervously, she bit her lip to stop the red hot flush that was creeping up her neck, spreading to her face. The sight of her full lower lip caught between the sharp teeth did not go unnoticed by Malfoy as he lowered his darkening gaze and stared hypnotically at where she dented the red softness of her mouth. Just then Ginny's temper flared as she came back to her senses, remembering that a few moments ago he had practically told her to take a hike because she was annoying him about an interview that he had agreed to, no matter how begrudgingly he had agreed to it he still owed her a few minutes of his time so that she could write a proper article and of all the most degrading things, now he was staring at her like he was starving and she was a piece of meat he could devour.

"Excuse me, Mr. Malfoy, but I believe you agreed to this interview," she said haughtily, her voice firm and assertive, "Now you are going to answer my questions- I don't care whether you're lying, or being politically correct or whatever, but you owe me a portion of your time so that I can write a decent bullshit article to make you look good!" She finished with a deep breath, her soft brown eyes blazing vividly as she met his astonished expression.

In a matter of seconds the shock ebbed from his face, replaced with a sly smile. "Alright, Ginny."

"Alright?" It was her turn to be surprised.

"Yes, but not now. I'm rather busy with my paperwork at the moment," he said gesturing to his cluttered desk.

"When?" she managed to ask, her mouth still held agape. 

"This evening, over dinner, at the Unicorn's Horn. Meet me there at nine o'clock sharp and I'll give you all the details you need."

Ginny bobbed her head up and down in an attempt at a nod. Somehow her mind registered that it was time for her to go and she unconsciously began to move her legs, backing away into the door. However, just as her hand, behind her back, found the knob and she was about to turn to leave he called her back.

"By the way, the restaurant requires formal attire so dress accordingly, in fact, dress robes are required." With that last instruction, Draco brought his head down to his work again and didn't even bid her goodbye. She didn't bother to say goodbye either as she turned around to exit his office, dodging a flying memo as she left. The embarrassed flush never left her cheeks as she suddenly realized that he had asked her out on a date; the flush only became brighter as she went over their conversation in her head and noted for the first time that he had said her name.


	2. 1 The Principles of Lust

**CHAPTER 1: THE PRINCIPLES OF LUST**

**_There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it._**

- Bernard Shaw, _Man and Superman_

                Ginny growled as she frantically powdered at her nose. It was like the inflammatory response: whenever something good happened in her life, like a date, her skin would immediately break out, especially on her face, always on her face. Luckily, this time, it was only one pimple on her nose, but it was one stubborn pimple. She had been trying all afternoon to shrink it with her wand, but the damn thing refused to get smaller so here she was trying to conceal it the muggle way- with cosmetics.

                Was this even a date? She had some doubts. He had asked her so suddenly. She was still reeling from the startling question. It was just to finish the interview, she had first told herself, but the more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that it was a date. For instance, why couldn't they have continued the interview right there in his office at the appointed time? Why continue it at a restaurant, especially one as classy and expensive as the Unicorn's Horn? And those previous looks he had given her, they definitely signified that his interest in her wasn't strictly business.

                "My hormones are against me," she groaned, giving her nose one final pat. Looking back at herself in the mirror, she was finally satisfied with her complexion. She then let her gaze examine the skin tight black dress that went down to her knees, resting on her shoulders in thick straps, and hugging her body in a very flattering way. The dress did wonders for her cleavage, doing a better job at pushing up her breasts than architectural support beams could ever have, and the way it clung to her bottom was sure to drop a few jaws.

                Satisfied with her body, Ginny began to apply color to her lips, a rich brown shade, and dusky gray eyeliner to her vivid brown eyes, giving them a sexy hazy look. Finishing off her maquillage with mascara, Ginny performed a quick refreshing charm on herself to make sure everything was sitting well before she slipped on her dress robes, leaving them partially unclasped to display her assets. 

                Slipping into her matching black shoes, Ginny glanced at the clock, grimacing when she noticed she should have left her flat five minutes ago. "Oh well," she thought; they always said that it was good to keep a man waiting, to play hard to get. However, she had the distinct uncomfortable feeling that Draco Malfoy waited for no woman.

                She was entirely right. Just as she had apparated in front of the entrance outside the Unicorn's Horn, the door leading inside swung open to reveal her dinner date, apparently leaving- with another woman on his arm! Ginny's jaw dropped. Malfoy brushed past her casually, not even bothering to acknowledge her presence. His attention was currently ensnared by a captivating blonde woman, her nose aristocratically raised in the air, as she swung lightly by Draco's side, supported by his arm around her waist. Had he even noticed that Ginny even bothered to show up?

                She had only been _five_ minutes late, for the love of…well, she wouldn't just stick around outside in the cool night air, pining after a date that never was. Ginny Weasley had dressed up for dinner at a nice restaurant and she would enjoy herself. With these thoughts in mind, Ginny strode inside and asked the host to be seated, only to be disappointed in finding out that _Malfoy_ had made the dinner reservation and there were currently no tables available, as the place had been booked for the entire week.

                "Fine then, " Ginny thought, "I can have a good time somewhere else!" And with these determined thoughts, Ginny quickly went in search of a fancy restaurant. After an hour of wandering to and fro Hogsmeade, disappointed, hungry, and immensely fatigued, Ginny gave up trying to find a decent restaurant that hadn't been full. She was about to disapparate home when she passed by the Three Broomsticks and ventured inside to get herself a butterbeer, or better yet, a whiskey.

                By the third whiskey Ginny was lost in a whirlwind of her own self-pity. "Malfoy's probably shagging her brains out by now," she thought disgustedly as she took another swig from her glass. "I hope his pecker falls off right in the middle of it!"

                She almost smiled at the thought, but grimaced as the bitter liquid scorched down her throat, leaving a slightly burning path down her esophagus that tingled every time she swallowed.

                After finishing the third drink, her slightly skewed senses told her that she'd had enough, that and her head pounded from listening to the heavily inebriated wizard next to her who kept telling her the fascinating fact that there were two hundred and six bones in her body, following up with the question: "Would you like to have two hundred and seven?"

                The next day Ginny woke up feeling as if two mountain trolls were using her head as a fulcrum in their seesaw games. Groaning, Ginny heaved herself out of bed, rubbing at her throbbing temples. "Oh, what did I do to deserve this?"

                Then her bleary half-opened brown eyes fixed upon her scattered clothing from the night before and it all flooded back to her. Draco had stood her up. Well, technically, she stood him up, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he saw her coming in late and had blatantly ignored her for another woman. For some peculiar reason, she didn't know precisely why, Ginny began to cry, loudly, like a small child. Perhaps, it was because she wanted to be that gorgeous blonde that he led home on his arm, waking up comfortably in his arms. She didn't think she would have given it up on the first date, but still, at least that woman _had_ a date; Ginny had spent that entire night drunk and alone. And now she was spending this entire morning, hung-over and alone.

                Then, like thunder and rain, Ginny's tears of regret turned into tears of rage, and all she could think about was ripping open Draco's gut, tying one end of his intestines about a pole, and kicking him off a cliff to see if his colon would snap. She grabbed her wand, poking it into thin air in blunt stabbing thrusts. Next, she grabbed her muggle eyelash curler that her dad had bought her while he was in muggle London, and pretended that its metal hinges were clamping around a certain blonde-haired man's over-excited groin. This only served to fuel her anger until she thought about that interview that was due on her boss's desk by the end of the day tomorrow. Her tears of rage ebbed, making way for tears of frustration. 

                Well she'd just have to go down to his office and beg for the interview. A wave of sickness swept over her at the thought, but she had no choice. It was either beg Malfoy or get fired and become cut off from her only way of financing her Healer education. One look at her appearance told her this was not the way to do it: here eyes were still half-glued shut from sleep, her hair might as well have been a nest, and at that very moment she had a great need to empty the contents of her stomach. 

"Isn't this a nice start to a wonderful day?" she thought as she bent over the porcelain throne.

****

                "I'm sorry, Miss, but you need an appointment to see Mr. Malfoy."

                Ginny glared violently at Malfoy's ditzy secretary. There was no way that Ginny Weasley would take orders from a huge-busted bimbo with nine inch nails and an arse the size of France, who probably had gotten the job for being the slut that she was. Shaking her head angrily, Ginny tried to get thoughts of Malfoy sleeping with other women from her head. Where had this jealous streak come from?

                "It's not jealousy," she tried to convince herself, "It's probably the truth."

                The bimbo tried once again to get Ginny to leave, but Ginny, who was fed up by now, forcefully pushed past her, reaching for the knob, and forcefully swinging Draco's door wide open to see the man himself right before her with his hand extended. An expression of surprise briefly flickered across his features as he eyed the red-faced woman in front of him, but it was quickly replaced with an expression of nonchalance as he directed his attention to the equally flushed secretary standing just a foot away.

                "I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, for disturbing you, but…"

                "Not at all, Matilda," Malfoy stopped her in mid-sentence, "I was expecting Miss Weasley for quite some time now." Then he turned to the now thoroughly embarrassed Ginny. "Miss Weasley," he said offering her his hand. Graciously, she took it and allowed him to lead her into the privacy of his office.

                As she heard the click of Malfoy shutting the door, Ginny began to unconsciously smooth her hair and clothing down.

                "I apologize for Matilda's behavior. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to go through and pick out my own secretaries, my assistant does that for me, and I must have forgotten to mention that manners were required for the position." An amused smirk, tugged at the corners of his mouth as Draco casually surveyed Ginny.

 She laughed nervously in response to his joke, almost forgetting that she had come here with a purpose in mind. "Right, Mr. Malfoy…" she began.

"You were wondering why I left early the other night and missed our date, yes?" He raised one eyebrow in question.

Ginny was so lost in his boldness that she could do nothing but nod her head.

"Well, that was really my mother's fault. She arrived unexpectedly and insisted I go home with her immediately. She stays at Malfoy Manor practically all alone nowadays with nobody but house elves to keep her company, so she decided for me that I'd been away from home long enough and practically dragged me back to spend the evening at the estate."

His mother! Of course! How could she have been so stupid? Well, it _had _been rather dark outside the restaurant. That was the only explanation for confusing his mother with his date. Either that or she preserved very well.

 "That was your mother?" Ginny's mouth dropped, making her resemble a codfish. And here she was again…being stupid.

"She does look a bit young, doesn't she?" Draco admitted. "It runs in the family actually, the Blacks were bred with great skin."

"I see," Ginny squeaked.

"Did you think that I had left you for her?" Draco smirked.

Ginny could only stutter in her defense, blushing with embarrassment at the thought of him knowing that her eyes had all but turned green, "I, uh…no, I thought, I thought…" Her temper flared up again as she realized that he had left her high and dry that night. "Don't you tease me! You could have offered to take me home, or at least acknowledge my existence!"

Draco winced in response to her glare, noticing with alarm that her temper was having quite an interesting effect on him. She was genuinely angry, but without intending so, she was getting a _rise_ out of him. "I would have taken you home, Ginny, had it been anyone else but my mother. I wouldn't have canceled our plans had it been anyone else but my mother. But you don't understand, she doesn't particularly take kindly to the women I date."

He had moved forward now, standing inches before her, looking hypnotically into her ever-softening brown eyes. 

_Date!_ her heart screamed, _He said it twice! It was a date! _And from the tone of his last speech it seemed that he regretted having stood her up.

And then all thoughts were banished from her head as he lowered his head to capture her mouth in a fierce, hot, demanding kiss, wrapping his arms covetously around her waist and pulling her flush against his tall frame, forcing her breasts into his toned chest and her stomach flat against a solid testimonial to his lust for her.

In just a few seconds he had her backed up against a wall, pressing himself more firmly into her as his tongue dove into the hot cavern of her mouth, pushing past her perfect full pink lips and seeking out her own tongue. He explored her mouth with an ever-increasing vigor as his hand crept up to deftly undo the buttons of her blouse, softly caressing any exposed flesh that met his fingers in the process.

Ginny moaned into his mouth as his very skilled hands crept up to cup her, as of yet, still clothed breasts, sending a pleasant chill down the column of her spine. Using one leg, he wedged himself in between her thighs, rubbing vigorously as he continued to squeeze and stroke her breasts through her blouse. With her head thrown back, her gorgeous red hair cascading around her like a waterfall, and the narrow column of her exposed throat presented so invitingly to him, Draco easily decided that Ginny was quite possibly the most sexy woman he'd ever seen.

She continued to enjoy his erotic attentions until it registered in her brain just how wanton she was acting. _What on earth was she doing?_ Just last night she swore to herself that she'd never give in on the first date and now here she was, letting him snog and fondle her senseless in his own office and they hadn't even gone out once yet!

"St-stop!" Ginny managed to gasp as she pushed his body harshly away.

"What?" Draco glared and attempted to press her up against the wall again, seizing her swollen lips in another searing kiss. But he received a very nasty shock when he tried to maneuver his tongue into her mouth.

"You Bloody Bitch! You bit me!" he yelled, as he felt the sour metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

"You deserved it!" Ginny snapped back, straightening her clothes. She could feel her temper rising just thinking about what he'd just done. Did he think she was just some whore he could have anytime, anywhere he wanted? Well then, she'd straighten him out.

"Mr. Malfoy," she began, trying her best to sound professional despite the blush that crept up her cheeks, "your behavior just now was very unprofessional, not to mention illegal. I didn't come here to get attacked, I came here for a goddamn interview that you owe me!" 

Ginny's indignant speech was met with an equally indignant look and for a second Draco was at a loss for words. _What was wrong with her?_

Wisely, though, he decided not to pursue it, if there was one thing he'd learned from his past relationships, it was that there was no reasoning with a woman when she was in this state. He decided he'd cut his losses.

"I'm sorry."

The expression on Ginny's face softened for a minute, as if she'd been taken aback, before she set her mouth into a thin grim line. "And my interview?"

Draco gave her an incredulous look. "Still set on that, are you?"

"Yes," she said firmly.

Sighing, he replied, "I'll have someone send you my statement, you can write your article based on that. Don't worry I'll be quite thorough. Will that be good enough?"

Ginny thought for a moment, then nodded. Now that that was out of the way Ginny allowed her thoughts to wander back to their most recent encounter. What just happened here? "Um…Draco…"

"Yes, Ginny." He smirked.

"I…" She paused, she really didn't know what to say and she felt increasingly uncomfortable standing there in his presence with that insufferable smirk upon his face.

"Shall we reschedule the date for tonight?" Draco cut her off.

Ginny blinked a few times before realizing he had just said the very words she was hoping to hear. Grinning like it was her birthday, she nodded.

"Alright then, same time, at the Unicorn's Horn?"

"I'll be there," she said, beaming and fumbling out of his office in much the same manner as she had the day before.

**A/n: I forgot to put the standard disclaimers in the first time so here goes… Harry Potter and all things that come from the Harry Potter universe are not mine. The title of the story is from the movie "Hush" and the plot is loosely based on it.**

**Yeah, I know, Narcissa seems kind of scary, but there are reasons for that, which will become obvious the next time she makers her appearance in this story, which will be soon!**

**Draco's job is Head of Department of Magical Transport as was mentioned in the beginning of the prologue.**

**Thanks to: Muddratt, B. Maude, michou, essential42, That's So Raven, Meggie, Burgosdamasco, jan, sexytexy, Annibug, Enter Name, Lady Malfoy, and Jennifer for reviewing!**

**And sorry to Lucius fans for my killing him off, but it was essential to the plot!******


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